RainDancer
by Cazcatharsis
Summary: An AU fic about what may have happened post Pitch Black, from the planet escape on... gets violent, written before TCOR in 2002. WIP
1. Lesson

_Morning folks, this is a story I started about two years ago, before the release of TCOR (which i found quite bad, despite sweaty Riddick and all). It's sort of AU, obviously, and a work in progress. I hope you like it!_

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**RainDancer**

**Prologue**

**  
**

The Leader of the pack took another chunk of deer meat into his mouth, trying to ignore the nips of his children as they fussed and rolled at his feet. He looked up helplessly at his first Wife, currently gnawing at a leg, and then, when he had her attention, glanced to his children again. She looked him in the eye, huffed at him as if saying _'Yah right,'_ and her concentration turned back to her meal. He swallowed his mouthful, defeated and turned away.

He'd had enough breakfast.

While his family basked around the kill, he padded away to a nearby clearing, wanting a moment of silence and peace in the early morning sun. He looked off into the distance, admiring the shape of the mountains and the greenery of the trees that was his home. He almost envied those loners, the rogues that wandered as they wished, didn't have a family to take care of.

The joyous yelping from the playing children and the lively chatter of his wives disrupted his thoughts. He smiled. They drove him crazy sometimes, but he loved them anyway. Even when they didn't do a thing he asked, he loved them.

The Leader felt something suddenly, a tickle in his ear, one that couldn't be ignored. His strong hearing picked up a tree branch snapping. A strange whisper, the scent of fear. Panic fought to rise in his belly.

Leaving the warmth of the new daylight, he plunged back into the forest, needing to warn his family. Danger was near. Another snap. Whatever it was, it was big and it was closer. The cheers of his children sent him over the edge, he ran as fast as he could, prepared to protect his loved ones, at any cost.

A deafening crack disturbed the air, the Leader almost stopped in his tracks, confused as to its origin. Much like the sound of a wind broken tree. But the sudden alarmed bleats from his family convinced him otherwise. At break-neck speed he pounded the dirt, emerging from the bush to see his fallen Wife and his children running, confused and frightened. His other wives tried to gather them, picking them right off the ground and disappearing.

The Leader, his mind in a fog and surrounded by chaos, stepped slowly over to his fallen companion, still whimpering at the burning wound in her belly. The blood was too much. He leaned down and looked into her pleading eyes, she was so very scared, his heart broke for her.

A foreign animal cry sounded from behind the Leader. His noble head turned to see for himself, and balked. A strange creature hopped out, holding a shiny stick, and it hollered more strange noises at him. "Here's another one!" it said. The Leader's back bristled and he revealed his teeth at this thing. He knew the shiny stick was responsible for his dying wife. The Thing pointed the stick at him, still hollering at him. The bush on either side of it rustled, and two more funny looking Things came out, also holding the horrible shiny sticks. The Leader, not a coward, and plenty pissed off, growled and stood his ground.

Another tree-fall crack and a flash came quickly, and the Leader felt a burning in his neck. Knocked off his feet, he lay in a pool of his own blood, wondering what was happening, watching the strange Things reach for him.  
With what little strength he had, he reached up and snapped his teeth at them.

"Fuck!" It barked, snatching it's paw, or whatever it was, back again, then it brought out another shiny thing, this one sharp like the Leader's teeth. Grinning, the Thing bent to him again, holding the shiny tooth in front of him. The leader closed his eyes and prayed to the gods to avenge him and his family, preparing himself for the pain.

It didn't come.

* * *

Paul looked over his shoulder at his buddies, grinning and brandishing his blade. He couldn't wait to plunge it into the flesh of his kill; the fur alone would be a great decoration for his living-room wall. He was proud of himself, two wolves in one day, a rare thing!

"Man, at least wait till it's dead!" They protested.

"Yah, put it out of its misery first!"

Paul turned back to his kill, blade in hand and prepared to skin it right there and then, thinking his friends were a couple of pussies. "It's just a fucking wolf." He muttered under his breath, leaning in for the first cut. He didn't have time to wait for the piece of shit to die; he had other things on his agenda today.

He stroked the fur first; glad to have found such beautiful quality. The other was also quite fine, but this one... this one was perfect. A perfect trophy. He thought about draping it over his chair instead, something soft and comforting to lean against on the long trip back home. Six months is a long time to fly, the pelt would make it just a bit more endurable.

"What the hell?" He heard Tyler whisper. The wolf under Paul's blade kicked a little at the dirt, as if it was trying to get up. Paul rested a hand on its neck and pushed, keeping the thing in place as he looked over at his friend. He saw him and Carl both standing near the bushes, looking at something Paul couldn't see. He got up off of the ground, brushing off the leaves and dirt, slightly pissed off. _What is it now?_

He reached them and stood in front of them, peering into the thick brush, listening for the slightest sound. His hunter instincts kicked in, and he raised his knife, poised for battle. _I can't see a goddamned thing in this shit!_ He thought as his eyes swept the area, searching for whatever held his buddies frozen in their boots. Finally, his eyes spotted a flash of white, and focused on it.

Another set of eyes stared back, burning a hole right through him. Paul felt fear grip him for a moment before he shook it off and called out to them.

"Whoever you are, come out where we can see you!"

The eyes didn't even blink. That pissed him off.

"Don't make me go in there after you." He threatened, taking a step forward to make his point. The eyes moved forward also, only one-step, matching his. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he ignored it, swiped it off and took another step closer to the bush. So did the eyes. They were only five feet away from each other, and now Paul could see a little better who it was. _Now that's something to have on a long space trip_ he thought as he looked over the intruder.

The woman emerged completely from the bush and stood in front of him in all her half-naked glory, allowing him to take the sight of her in completely. Naturally the first thing he noticed was her near nakedness, and that alone made him hard. His eyes traveled over her body, her shapely legs, her smooth brown skin, her ample and barely covered breasts and her gorgeous _fuck me_ eyes.

Too late did he notice the foot long blade tucked into the hem of her shorts. His eyes must have betrayed the discovery, she grinned at him evilly, but before he could shout out a warning, she had the knife in her hand. Her movement was so fast; the blade flickered in the sun before plunging into Tyler's throat. The crimson flow splashed her in the face, trickled down to her lips. She took enough time to lick them, growling at the taste, before disemboweling the whimpering Carl, also too paralyzed to lift a finger. His death cry echoed in Paul's ears, as he stood transfixed.

She dropped Carl's twitching body and her brown eyes turned to him. Shaking himself, he ran screaming, looking back as the woman wiped her blade on her leg and grinned again. Paul didn't make it very far. He fell with the knife buried in his back near the two dying wolves. They watched the proceedings with human-like interest, and it scared him.

He reached back to pull the knife out, breathing the dirt through his nose, making him cough. Black spots invaded his sight as he felt his body weaken, but he wanted the knife out and kept reaching. His fingers just touched the handle when the sick sliding grind of the knife getting yanked out made him scream again. He saw the eyes of the second wolf he shot down, and was amazed to see satisfaction lurking there.

Strong arms flipped him over onto his injured back. He felt the woman straddle him, and he lifted his head slightly so he could see her. She sat on his thighs, dripping with the blood of his comrades, still with that toothy white smile, like she was enjoying his reactions to her. He finally got a good look at her face, surrounded by a tangle of black hair, and his last thought before she ripped him apart was _Huntress._


	2. Crash Landings

**Nununununu... T. T is for Turtle. nununununu.**

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**Chapter 1**

Imam finished his prayer, his booming voice slowly fading to silence. Jack's head was bowed as she listened, her hands clenched tight in her lap. Her tiny body still shook from her weeping and Riddick watched as Imam placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. He felt a twinge of regret, unable to do the same without feeling fake. Instead he changed the bandage on his leg, quietly observing his companions interaction.

Jack wiped her eyes with her sleep and attempted a smile. Riddick was impressed with her spunk, trying to grin in the face of death. She knew the life-support would be gone soon, Riddick didn't see why she shouldn't. He and Imam debated over it, Riddick won, but he had to tell her. Seeing her eyes lose the sparkle, even momentarily, affected him. It was the same look Carolyn gave him before she was torn from him, leaving him bleeding in the rain. Now, as Imam held her, Riddick vowed never to see that look in Jack's eyes again.

A bleep from the navigational system broke his thoughts. He silently left the pair and sat, looking over the screens and out the window. He recognized this place, the way the planets were aligned. It was a non-hostile area, away from the main populace if he remembered correctly. Only one inhabited planet, and that was barely. He felt a pang of happiness as he studied the information laid out before him. They might just make it if the skiff could hold out long enough.

"Mr. Riddick." Imam announced himself, aware of Riddick's tendency to pull a shiv on who ever didn't, before he sat in the chair next to him. "The child is asleep now."

Riddick nodded. He could hear her soft snoring behind him. "I found a place for us to land,"

Imam's eyes lit up, hearing the good news, Riddick went on before he could celebrate, "But, it's mostly forest, relatively unpopulated. Seems like a good place to lay low till we can steal another ship."

Imam was getting used to Riddick's habits, no longer bothering to try straightening him out, but he questioned the 'stealing' part. Riddick groaned inwardly. He was sympathetic to the loss of Imam's boys, and he respected the holy man's strength, but damned if he wasn't ignorant as hell sometimes. He kept his temper in check though, unwilling to wake Jack, who hadn't slept much at all in the past week. The few hours she had slept were full of nightmares, waking her up screaming. She needed her rest.

Riddick kept his voice low as he explained the situation to Imam. The planet was much like Earth, before war and disease ravaged it. Full of life, but only slightly populated by humans.

"Why do we go there to 'acquire' another ship, if there's hardly a soul there?"

"Because it's a tourist attraction. The place is packed with the animals of Old Earth." Riddick explained in more detail, using what he'd learned way back when he was a kid in school.

_Pragapati_ was discovered about 200 years ago, a planet with the same atmosphere as Earth. Much of the plant life and temperatures were similar, maybe larger and warmer, with minimal animal life. It was a paradise, dense forests and clear lakes all over. To make a long story short, some people decided they'd use this planet into a giant petting zoo. Human's already had four other planets all to their own, and thought it was about time the wildlife had one too, with little outside interference. Many of the native creatures of Old Earth neared extinction, suffering through toxic waters and unrelenting hunters, and the Council knew their days were numbers. So in a Noah's Ark type of project, they transferred shiploads of creatures from Earth to this new world.

A hundred years later, the planet and the animals were still doing well; adjusting to each other's needs like roomies in a new apartment. The animals flourished and the population grew. The council named the planet _Pragapati_ after the Hindu Lord of Creatures.

Unfortunately, the council broke up 75 years later and the politicians moved in. The people who had once protected the interests of the planet were corrupted with dreams of money. Now, the planet's main attraction was its expansive hunting grounds. A group could go there and kill whatever crossed their paths, for a price. Hunter's could do anything they pleased with their kills. Eat it, sell it, decorate their walls with it, didn't matter. No limitations. As long as the politicians got their money, they were happy. But besides those rich hunters and the owners of the Lodges, the planet was empty.

Imam listened intently to Riddick's story, but curiosity got the better of him in the end. "Isn't a Hunter's planet a dangerous place for someone...like you?"

Riddick laughed, and then checked himself, Jack was still asleep. "No, wrong type of hunter. Mercs wouldn't bother with this place, not enough money in it. Besides, the odds of actually running right into a bunch of hunters that know my face are about a billion to one."

"Jack, wake up, we're landing." Riddick dodged her swinging fist and grinned. "Get up, Kid!"

Jack sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. "Huh? Landing? Where?" She groggily got to her feet, scratching her belly and looking inquisitively at Riddick. He gave her a quick explanation and that snapped her out of it. "What?" Her face showed a bit of shock, making Riddick wary. "We're going to see ANIMALS?"

She jumped for joy and clapped her hands like a four year old. That reaction was not what Riddick expected, he blinked at her and shook his head. _The resilience of youth,_ he thought with an inner laugh. She kept jumping around repeating "Animals, animals, animals!" in a sing-song voice and it was getting on Riddick's nerves.

"Yah, yah, animals. Now shut up and sit down."

He meant it to sound like an order, but the silly grin on her face and Imam's stern look made him waver a little. _There's __that sparkle again._ He left Jack in a giggling heap and went to buckle himself in for the landing. It was going to be rough, the ship being almost powerless and still damaged. He only hoped he wouldn't kill them all by smashing into a tree.

The landing was just fine, and although missed the trees, they _did_ smash into pile of boulders. Luckily nobody was injured, but opening the skiff so they could get out was a bit of a problem, dirt and fallen foliage blocked the exit. Jack left the two men to struggle by themselves, choosing instead to crawl through the broken window, a hole just big enough for her to squeeze through. She called out to them from outside and waved cheerily.

Riddick wanted to shake her but again restrained himself. Imam began pacing while Jack searched around for something heavy enough to smash the rest of the window. It took her a while; she was constantly distracted by everything around her. Riddick had to yell at her to get her back to the ship.

"Think this is big enough?" She asked, sticking her head through the hole and brandishing a good-sized log. Riddick acknowledged by pulling his goggles down over his eyes, taking a step back. Imam did the same.

Jack took a swing at the glass, and the impact caused the skiff to shake, but the glass didn't break. The reverberation must have hurt, he heard Jack cursing outside and her pained face as she sat on the ground made him grin. He laughed hard at her, so she flipped him off.

"Jack!" Imam admonished the girl but looked at Riddick's amused face and just shook his head. Riddick reached out the hole and grabbed the log away from Jack. The fresh air felt great on his skin, warm yet a little breezy. He couldn't wait to get out of the skiff.

He pushed Imam back with one arm and shouted a warning to Jack. _A week ago you wanted to kill em, now you're protecting them from flying glass. Amazing how things change_, he mused. He took a sturdy stance, hefting the log back and swinging with all his strength. It landed solidly, a bit of glass shattered, but the end result was a hole about the size of Riddick's fist. He hit it again with the same outcome and frowned. Jack raised an eyebrow at him as he swore up a blue streak, repeatedly bashing the window. "Shit!" _Smack!_

Imam just covered his ears and waited patiently. Eventually through Riddick's repeated bashings, the hole grew man-sized, just large enough for the two grown guys to squeeze through.

"What?" Riddick growled at Jack, who sat cross-legged against a tree, smiling up at him. She raised her hands in mock defense.

"Nothing!"

"Good." He stalked off to explore the area, brushing glass off of his leg, listening to Jack laughing at him. He felt like a big blundering idiot when she did that. He needed to get away from them before he did something irrational, like popping Jack's stubbly head off.

_Calm down, you psycho_. He rubbed his own bald skull and kicked a tree to vent his frustration. Changing from a hard-boiled mass murderer to a decent human being was proving difficult. He gave himself credit for making it through an entire week without acting on his temper. Especially stuck in a prison-cell sized skiff with a priest and a bitchy teenaged girl. Most 'civilized' men would be completely insane by now.

He'd been walking for about five minutes, not really noticing his surroundings, when he looked up he realized he was lost. "Shit." He muttered. A flock of birds took flight from the tree next to him, startled by his voice. He crouched and pulled his shiv, ready to do battle. The birds squawked at him in retaliation and Riddick laughed at his own paranoia.

"Damned birds."

He caught a glimpse of the sky through the trees and it held him transfixed. It looked so much like Earth, blue and cloudless and eternal. He breathed deep the fresh crisp air and leaned against the tree. He hadn't felt this kind of peace in years, almost decades. Complete freedom outside, surrounded by dense bush and wild animals, and complete silence.

He kept walking for a couple more minutes, taking his time to study everything. He only wished he didn't have the goggles, so he could enjoy the real colors of it. _Memories will have to do._ He took one last look at the river in front of him and smiled, then with a huff of regret he turned away and retraced his steps back to the skiff.

Jack had already found some wood; a pile of it was stacked against the side of the skiff. She was attempting to climb a nearby tree, grasping a branch haphazardly and grunting with effort. Imam was off to the side praying again, his hands on his temples singing with that distinctive humble voice. The scene looked ridiculous and Riddick wondered where exactly he fit into this little circus. When Jack lost her grip on the branch and went crashing to the ground with a shout, Riddick couldn't even pretend to hide his amusement. _The Holy Man, the clumsy teenager and the reformed murderer. What a group_.

Night came not long afterwards, and Jack put the wood to good use by starting a small fire. The three of them sat around it to keep warm, the only one unappreciative of the light being Riddick.

"You sure complain a lot for a hardened criminal." Jack stated matter-of-factly.

"At least I didn't fall out of a tree." He retaliated, trying to hide the grin from her, imagining her feet dangling again.

Imam chuckled softly at the childish war of words. "Children, please."

Riddick reached out and rubbed Jack's scalp, as close to an embrace as he'd allow himself. _I am acting like a kid!_ Jack smiled and copied his motion. _It's probably contagious_.

Silence fell over the group, all three looking into the fire, Riddick thinking about the situation they were stuck in. It did seem rather hopeless, being ship-less, foodless and just plain exhausted, but flashbacks of their previous adventures quickly smartened him up. Food could be more easily found here than on that other planet. The ship problem could be solved, maybe not immediately, but it was possible. They just had to get past heavily armed men whose primal instincts were prominent. _Great_. At least the tiredness might go away; Riddick intended to have that taken care of as soon as the firelight faded.

Riddick yawned loudly, scaring Jack out of her daze. "You too, huh?"

"Yah. I'm gonna take a piss, then I'm going to sleep for a while."

Jack made a face at him, "Too much information, Riddick, but whatever."

"You want first watch?" She quickly shook her head. "Then shaddap!" he finished, pushing her over as he got off the ground. Jack fell flat and laughed. Imam shook his head again. "You keep doing that and you'll get whiplash."

Riddick left them conversing around the fire, hearing their words clearly yet ignoring them. Now turned away from the light he removed his goggles, relieved to have them resting on his forehead for once. He wondered if they left a crease in his face.

The woods looked different at night, more flashes of movement as the wind ruffled the trees and the nocturnal creatures wandered. Riddick found he jumped at every small movement and asked himself why he was so paranoid all of a sudden. _Still jittery from the planet... those fucking things._ He found a place suitable for relieving himself and settled in for a long one. He was about to whip it out and water the shrubbery when something distracted him, a stirring in the trees above him. His hand moved from his fly to his shiv as he scanned the vicinity. A perplexing ache in his gut told him he was being watched.


	3. Observance

**Chapter 2**

She remained hidden as the man searched around in the wrong direction. Above and behind him she sat on a limb, under the cover of leaves and darkness. She kept her breathing steady and quiet, tempted to throw another rock to see if this time he'd give chase like a dog. She loved to toy with these people, something amusing to do before her hunt began.

* * *

The Huntress first saw the threesome when it was still daytime, pulling their luggage out of their smashed little ship. She wondered which of the three the pilot was and who exactly taught him to land. She found it funny that all three were bald, like they were part of a cult or something.

The littlest one of them couldn't have been more than 14 years old, and obvious from the movements, a female, was energetic and full of life, always smiling. She looked happy to be on solid ground.

The Taller one was robed and seemed humble enough, and had a wonderful singing voice. He reminded the Huntress of a priest. That confused her, what would a priest would be doing way out here in the bush? 

Then, there was the man with the goggles. She noticed him immediately, his presence jarring something inside of her. She didn't know him, but she knew his type. He was a warrior, a person not to be toyed with.  
And to the Huntress, a Challenge.

He moved differently than the others, almost like he prowled everywhere. His walk and his grace betrayed his skill, and the steel shiv ever tucked in his pants, a sign of his bravery. Most people these days used guns, to kill from a distance. This man obviously preferred to be face to face with an opponent. 

She kept her eye on the group for about an hour, then left to get some food and check on her home. The last group of hunters came awfully close to where she lived and she didn't want that to happen again. She even lashed the cowardly one to a tree to get her point across to the next hunting party.

And there would be a next. 

Finding her home in decent condition, she kicked back and relaxed a while. She didn't want to return to the crash site until dark, when it would be easier for her to keep a close watch on the Warrior and his companions. The Huntress knew they were not like the others on this planet, the rich men who came for blood and trophies. The way they landed was enough of an indication of that. But the Warrior worried her. Something in her blood warned her to be cautious.

* * *

Staring down at the top of the man's head now as it swerved back and forth, she fingered the steel blade at her belt. She wasn't going to use it tonight, but brought it as a precaution. It was still warm from the previous day's work and she smiled, remembering the wolf's appreciation. It had given her a small lick, a strange behavior from a fully-grown male, before it died from its injuries. That had touched her deeply and reminded her of why she did what she did in the first place.

An owl swooped down and caught something in its talons nearby, the ruckus startling the man, causing him to spin around to face in her direction. The Huntress felt her breath catch when she saw his eyes for the first time. She wondered what the silly looking goggles were for, and now she knew.

_A shine job._

She'd never seen one in real life before, only illustrated in medical textbooks. As his eyes flickered from place to place they gave off a silvery blue reflection. She kept very still, knowing any sudden movement would alert him to her position.

_Damn, he can see in the dark, much better than you, get away from here, now!_

She debated with herself, unsure whether to jump down from here and kill him now while she had the element of surprise, or sit and wait and hope he didn't see her. Her hand settled on the knife and she prepared herself for battle, watching the man step closer to her tree with his own weapon ready. A low growl came from between his clenched teeth as the muscles in his shoulders knotted. He knew she was there, he just didn't know where.

"Riddick?" A high feminine call pierced the tension and the man stopped. The Huntress tilted her head to the side, and saw the young girl tripping her way through the bushes nearby. "Are you decent?" she inquired. 

He took a moment to reply, looking a little unsteady. "Yah, I'm over here." Said the man in a deep baritone grumble. He slowly stood up straight and stuck the steel shiv back in the waistband of his pants, shaking himself a little.

The young one found him, placed a tiny hand on his arm. The contrast between the two was amazing, her thin paleness against his dark biceps. The huntress found herself curious as how they met and what their relationship was.

"Thought you got lost out here." "No. I heard something. Got distracted." Came his terse reply. "Of course you did, it is a forest." The man looked around him once more casually, and muttered "Yah." 

The Huntress held her breath until the pair was out of sight, then let herself unwind. _Damn, that was close_.

She decided against following them back to the camp and watching them some more. That would be tempting the Fates just a little too much. She got to her feet and jumped to the next tree, swinging on it and letting her feet dangle before dropping silently to the ground. Home was quite a distance away and she wanted to sleep now. The last couple of days had been tiring, and she was sure the next few just as entertaining.

* * *

The new day came in peace, shedding its light all over the forest and into the rivers. The night creatures settled in their nests to rest, while the children of the day stretched and yawned, thinking of food. 

The Huntress sat cross-legged in a rocky outcropping 20 feet above the rapids, watching the sun rise. Pink and purple clouds spotted the sky, a sign of the coming storm.

She yawned loudly and sipped at her tea, marveling at the beauty of the scene as she did almost every morning. Her long black hair hung in thick dreadlocks around her tanned brown shoulders, and she decided a bath in the river would do her some good.

Still half asleep, she recalled her dreams, reminding herself to write them down when she returned home. She dreamed of the bald man, Riddick, and the dead wolf from two days ago. Their faces faded in and out and soon merged. They were one in the same, the wolf and the man, peering at her with their silver-blue eyes. Then she'd hear a piercing cry and the wolf and the man vanished, only to be replaced by fire. She could feel her skin singe as it licked at her legs.

She woke up screaming. It took a long time to get the picture out of her head, but it came back as soon as she fell asleep again. 

_This dream is a warning_, she thought as she padded barefoot to a calmer part of the river. She skipped over a tangle of roots and ducked under a low hanging branch, startling a nested deer. She said hello to it and moved on.

_Either that man is dangerous, or he brings danger with him._

She placed her cup on a boulder nearby and removed the shreds of her clothing. The cool spray coming off the river gave her goose-bumps, making her reluctant to fully immerse herself in the icy waters.

_And what's with the wolf eyes and the fire?_

The Huntress dipped her toes into the water, squealed, and quickly pulled them out again. A squirrel chirped at her with a sound much like a giggle. She gave it a dirty look.

She turned from the river and walked towards the squirrel, which lay splayed out on the side of the tree. Its black beady eyes flicked over her and she grinned at it. 

_Next time I'm taking you with me_.

And with that she spun on her heel, ran a few feet and leapt off the edge, plunging herself all at once into the river. 

A few minutes later she sprung up out of the river with a growl. _Now you remember why you only do this a couple times a month_, she chided herself as she crawled shivering onto the rocks, now clean and refreshed. The squirrel had disappeared but she could still hear it chattering somewhere off in the forest. Knowing there was nobody around for miles, she lay on her robe to sun herself, running her fingers through the knots in her hair. The dreads hadn't come out completely, but they were a lot more cooperative.

Facing the sky, she thought of her new guests. A decision had to be made now and dealt with today.

_With the dreams and his eyes and the new frequency of Hunters in my forest, I can't risk having them around._

_If he's dangerous, I can deal with that. Kill him. _

_If he brings danger, I don't know. What danger could he bring?_

_It doesn't matter. You know what can happen. You know how to deal with it._

_Leave the others, get rid of the Warrior._  
  
Having made her judgment, she left the river and hiked back to her home. She found some relatively fresh clothes, some combat pants off of one of the hunters which she had made into shorts, and an old T shirt she cut the sleeves off of. She remained bare-foot, preferring the feel of the land under her toes over the constricting rubber heel of work boots, plus they gripped tree branches better.

The Huntress found her weapons, all the guns she had taken off the hunters recently and hadn't disposed of yet, and her knife collection, tucked neatly into a box under her bed. She yanked it out and searched through it, wanting to find some back up weaponry, just in case.

Finding nothing interesting, she kept her usual foot long blade and grabbed a gnarled wooden staff instead. Good for a beat-down if that's what it came to. And taking into consideration the size of her main opponent, it would probably end up that way. Though she hoped it wouldn't. 

She flipped on the radio she salvaged a year ago from a particularly dumb hunter, and listened for signals. The last thing she wanted while she was hunting a group was to have another show up. Hearing nothing interesting, a party being about 20 miles away and mostly just drinking, she switched the radio off.  
  
The Huntress moved quickly, dashing through the bush with the speed of a deer, dodging roots and limbs easily. She knew these woods well, knew where each obstacle was, where the paths dipped or were blocked.  
As she neared the old wolf den she sprang up into the trees, climbing higher with every jump. Soon she was above the forest looking down. The clearing nearby stood empty except for one lone raven. She jumped to the next closest tree, landing solidly on its foot-wide branch, and settled there for a while to watch.  
She knew exactly where she was. Below lay the two wolves and their killer was tacked to the tree 10 feet away and 15 feet down. She knew she couldn't be seen from the Clearing and wouldn't be seen until they were directly beneath the tree.

The two wolves below, she noticed, were already mostly consumed. The two nearby hunters, stripped of most of their clothes, were also partially eaten. The flies had gathered for dinner, swarming around the corpses. Three crows were also dining, squawking at each other over the meatiest bits.

The Hunter she had bound to the tree was in better condition. Only his legs and face had been feasted upon. _Looks like the rest of the pack got a meal out of him at least_.

The whole area reeked of death and it took all of her strength not to drop her staff and plug her nose. That was the only thing she hated about the slaughter of the Hunters – The stench. But she would tolerate it, if it got rid of them, even for a short time. 

The bastards kept coming back, despite her numerous warnings. They ignored the body count, too full of lust for the kill. The Huntress couldn't understand these people. She only hunted and killed for food or survival, and she made an effort to use as much of the animal as she could.

But these people, they hunted for sport, for trophies. They had to respect for life and they killed indiscriminately. Pregnant females, children, didn't matter. And to make the offense worse, they'd take one small bit as a trophy and leave the rest, or just poke at the kill for a minute before moving on to the next one.

They didn't even have the guts _or possibly the skill_ to use anything but high-powered rifles or some other gun.

What a waste. She'd seen whole Wolf packs cut to pieces by men with machine guns, Does with their young blown up and sliced up for souvenirs. Some time along the way the Huntress lost all respect for Humankind. It was about four years ago she'd decided she'd had enough of watching these cowardly people destroy her territory. It was about time they knew what it felt like to be hunted. To be killed erratically and strung up like trophies in a den. 

She was reluctant to admit that there was one thing that frightened her about her philosophy. That somewhere in the past four years, she learned to enjoy it.  
  
The screech of the raven brought her out of her reverie. The bird shot past her in a panic, stirring up the leaves as it went. The crows on the ground flapped their wings a little but stayed put, reluctant to leave their feast just yet.

The Huntress looked over into the Clearing to see what had frightened the Raven, hoping like mad it wasn't a bear, and was surprised to see her prey hiking casually over the grass in her direction, carrying bags. She was pleased with her good luck. She didn't even have to chase them down! This made her job a lot easier.  
She settled back against the trunk of her tree and pulled her favorite blade out of its sheath with a little regret. These people, like she thought earlier, were not like the ones she was used to. They didn't carry guns. They were not here for the Hunt. And at least two of them seemed like decent enough human beings. The Huntress didn't want to kill them.

But she wasn't willing to take the risk they brought with them. They were much too close to her home, and the nightmares she'd had of their wolf-eyed companion haunted her. He had an aura of danger around him that almost equaled her own. That's enough reason she told herself as she sat back on her haunches and waited for them to arrive. 


	4. Counting Coup

**_Thanks for the reviews so far guys. :) Poor Riddick._**

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**Chapter 3**

Riddick smiled as the raven took flight, gliding with the wind and disappearing into the trees beyond the field. It looked so strange through his goggles, and again he wished he had his old eyes back again. _It's not everyday you see something as glorious as a raven in mid-flight_.

He heard Jack stumble over something and curse. He turned to see if she was okay but Imam got to her first, helping her back up carefully. He had to laugh, watching Jack struggle with the majority of the baggage.

_Shouldn't have called me gorilla then_ he thought as she nearly tipped over again. She shot ice at him with her eyes as she caught herself. Riddick grinned smugly back.

Before facing the edge of the clearing again, his gaze landed on the angry black clouds moving sluggishly toward them. It looked mean, and Riddick didn't want to be caught out here in the middle of a field to get soaked when it arrived, so he took one of the five bags from Jack and pulled her along. Imam fought to keep up with Riddick's pace as he hurried in the direction of shelter.

_There. That's perfect._ Riddick spotted a small path and rushed towards it, already feeling the spittle from the storm strike his arms and the top of his head. Refreshing, but he didn't want to get sick. That would make things a little too ridiculous. To be waited on by Imam and Jack as he sneezed... No way.

As the group got closer to the shelter of the forest, Riddick picked up the familiar scent of death. He slowed down, letting Jack recover her balance and Imam catch up with them. Imam huffed a bit but appeared okay, but his nose wrinkled, as he too smelled the air.

"Probably a dead animal." Riddick thought aloud as the other two stopped in their tracks. "Nothing to worry about."

Something inside him told him different. A twinge in his gut, much like the feeling last night when he was going to pee in the bushes. Someone was watching.

_It's just a deer or a raccoon or a squirrel, quit being so paranoid. _

He kept his eyes peeled for movement anyway, though that was difficult with the now stronger gusts of wind. The storm snuck up on them and the rain started to pour suddenly and heavily. Jack squealed a little and started running to the trees. Riddick fought the urge to grab her arm and yank her back, feeling panic rise in his chest again.

_There's something in the trees_ he thought irrationally, chasing after her. He lost sight of her soon as he crashed through the dense bush. He heard Imam calling after her behind him.

Under the cover of the forest now, Riddick felt claustrophobic. The foliage was thick and the air felt electric, heavy. In his rush to find Jack he didn't look where he was going and got slapped in the face by a waving tree branch. He swore at the sting of it and picked a leaf out of his goggles. _I'm not going to find her if I'm panicking_.

He stopped for a minute and waited for Imam to catch up with him. _No sense in losing everyone out here._ "Jack!" He yelled, hoping she'd hear him and come back. Imam caught up, frowning at the burrs stuck to his robes.

When there was no reply from Jack, Riddick got angry. "Fucking kid." He mumbled, stomping through the bush. This was the last thing he needed, a lost kid along with the storm and the creepy feeling in his gut.  
He noticed the smell of rot getting stronger the further in they went. He heard Imam cough behind him.

"There she is, Mr. Riddick." Imam pointed at the top of Jack's head, barely visible through the leaves. She wasn't moving.

"Jack!" he called again.

Nothing.

He stepped closer and grabbed her arm, meaning to turn her around and give her shit. Then he saw the terror in her eyes, wide and filling with tears, and stopped his words. Imam froze, mumbled a prayer and shut his eyes.

_What the fuck?_ Riddick looked up from them and saw what had frightened Jack and disgusted Imam.

He'd seen his share of rotten corpses and these ones weren't the worst, but still... if it wasn't for his experience he would have ran off into the bushes and puked. It didn't help that the storm raged and highlighted the blood with every flash of lightning. Made a rather gruesome scene.

_No wonder poor Jack freaked out._

He looked like he had been there for only a short time. The degree of decay wasn't bad enough for him to have been dead for more than maybe two days. His eyes were missing, Riddick noticed the rain pooling in the sockets. His stomach was sliced open, looked like what probably killed him. His legs and feet had been gnawed at by scavengers; bits of his pant leg were spread out around him.

He turned from the one in the tree and looked at the others. There were two wolves, a male and a female from the looks of it. Both had bullet holes.

The other two corpses were human, two men, both cut up pretty bad. Hunters.

"Mr. Riddick, we should leave this place." Imam said, holding the crying Jack in his arms.

"Hold on." He waved him off, kneeling down to take a closer look. _Whoever did this knew what they were doing_. It was obvious a human left this carnage, a wolf or bear wouldn't lash a hunter to a tree. The elaborate way he was displayed indicated a warning.

_That's one hell of a Keep Out sign._

No sooner had that thought crossed his mind, he felt that instinctual gut wrench again. That presence, the same one from last night. He knew it. They were being watched again.

"Imam, get her out of here." Riddick instructed, rising to his feet and releasing the shiv from his waistband.

Drops of rain spattered on his goggles, obscuring his vision as his eyes roamed the area, searching for the threat. He knew it was there, he felt the telltale tingling on the back of his neck.

The storm raged on above them, blocking the sun with thick black clouds, darkening the world. _But not enough_ Riddick complained inwardly. It was still much too bright for him to remove his goggles, but too dark for him to see anything clearly. His other senses sharpened to compensate for his lack of vision. He listened carefully for a sign, smelled the now heavy air for a strange scent, but there was nothing but Jack's screaming protests as Imam pulled her away, and the fresh odor of the rain.

Soon it was just Riddick and the deceased. He was getting cold, the rain soaking through his torn shirt and chilling him to the bone. He shivered as he walked around, peeking behind bushes and leaping behind trees, hoping to find whoever or whatever was spying on him.

Visions of those flying alien creatures flashed through his memory, bringing with them an abnormal jolt of fear. He could almost feel the claws digging into his thigh and slashing his chest open, virtually heard their birdlike piercing cries. Nothing. Nothing but the downpour and the dead. Riddick began to feel a little silly. _Those things worked your nerves a little more than you thought, old boy._

Despite that, he kept the cold steel blade firmly planted in his palm and listened. All was silent other than the wind-blown leaves and the pattering drops. _You're losing it_! He was facing a particularly thick tree trunk, directly opposite the crucified hunter. Feeling like a jittery old fool he loosened his tense muscles and put the shiv back in his pants, took a deep breath to relax himself and banish the visions. _There's nothing here, you got spooked, you're tired and you haven't eaten in two days. Calm down._

Riddick chuckled at himself, wiping at the water on his goggles with the back of a shaking hand. He turned and looked at the strung up hunter, thinking of poor Jack. _Better find them, girl's going to have nightmares for a week_.

His boot splashed in the now muddy terrain as he started forward, intending to find his companions and seek shelter until the storm wore itself out.

But then he heard the slightest intake of breath.

His hand moved to release the shiv again but he was too slow, it didn't make it. Something heavy hit his hand as it touched the hilt, and he watched the silver glint of the blade as it flew out and away, landed seven feet away and disappeared in the blood puddle at the dead hunter's leg stumps.

Riddick barely registered this before a hard object was suddenly pressed against his throat. He felt his breathe cut off as his attacker pulled him backwards. In the slick mud he lost his footing and slipped, falling hard onto his tailbone. The water quickly dampened his pants and his sight wavered.

Riddick, panicked, reached up and grabbed what was jammed against his neck, a large wooden staff from the feel of it, and he struggled to get it away from him and regain some air. It wouldn't budge; his attacker held it firm, pulled upward but kept it at his throat. Riddick felt his muscles lose strength and black spots appeared in his vision as he began to lose consciousness.

Without warning, the choking stopped, the object removed. Confused, his arms dropped to the mud. He was about to get up to confront this thing, ferociously growling at his enemy, but a fist rammed into his lip and split it wide open. Riddick was dazed for a moment, couldn't do a thing as his attacker ripped the goggles from his head. He struck out with a fist but hit nothing, _Shit_!

He flipped himself over onto his stomach and tasted dirt as it splashed into his gaping mouth. He squeezed his burning eyes shut and coughed to recover his breath.

He reached forward, hoping to feel the hardened plastic of his goggles, raking his fingers through the mud. He heard footsteps splashing away from his prone form and he almost felt helpless. _Thirty seconds and I've been reduced to this_.

Alone, blind and weak from the sudden assault, Riddick raised himself to all fours and risked opening his eyes for a half second to get his bearings.

_Okay, the dead guy's behind me, and that's where my shiv is_.

A new goal in his head he crawled the other way, shutting his eyes but listening for another attack. He wanted almost to call for help, but he also didn't want to put Jack and Imam in danger.

_Jack!_

Riddick almost dropped back into the mud, realizing whoever had attacked him could easily be doing the same or worse to her at this very moment. _It wanted me weakened before going after her, that's why it let me go_.

He moved faster, ignoring the mud in his eyes, hunting for his shiv in the puddle he was kneeling in, visualizing Jack's blue eyes full of terror.

"Aha!" His hand landed on the sharp steel and he gripped it tight, triumph surging through him. He held it up in the air, roaring at this small victory. With glee he got to his feet, knew which direction Imam took her and started running.

He only got a couple of feet when something large slammed into him from behind, a joyous whoop sounded as he bounced off of another tree. He felt his nose crack at impact and he lost his balance and ended up on his back in the mud again.

In complete frustration he yelled at his nemesis, sweeping his weapon blindly about in the vain hope of slicing into something meaty. He used his other hand to check the status of his mashed nose. Broken.

_Goddamn it, not again_.

Riddick hated being made to feel weak and incapable, and whoever was doing this to him was going to regret it once he was back on his feet.

Riddick sat up, still waving the shiv around uselessly. He heard a growled inhuman laughter behind him and, determined to do some damage, Riddick flung himself back and swiped out, hitting his target.

"Ha!" He opened his eyes again, in spite of the searing pain. He wanted to see his attacker, to grin at it before he ripped it apart with his bare hands.

The victorious feeling disappeared when he saw what he cut.

The dead hunter's leg.

"Fuck!"

_To your right, it's coming again_!

He prepared himself for another assault, tensed up, focused all his strength on the hand-held shiv. He kept his eyes open, barely made out the form as it barreled toward him with lightning speed. It was a human form, that's all he knew for sure. He could see two legs and two arms; the rest was just a blur of light.  
He stopped moving just out of arm's reach. Riddick wished the fog would disappear from his sight, that he could have a few seconds to bring his arm around to cut him open.

The two of them kept still, studying each other, waiting for the other to make the next move. Riddick noticed the large blade his adversary held, knew it was for him, knew he was going to die if he didn't do something quick.

_Well_, He thought with a grin, _I'm not going out without doing some damage._

The form didn't move as Riddick got to his feet slowly, enduring the pain in his eyes and the scraping bones of his nose. He tasted blood on his lips and knew it was his.

The enemy waited patiently for him, remaining where he was, not gutting him where he stood like he expected. He was toying with him; Riddick knew it, and that made him angry.

When he was ready, he called him on, ready for the next round and brandishing his knife. Other than the initial shock of the two attacks and the broken nose, Riddick felt fine, the taste of his own blood spurred him on, and he boiled with rage. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he looked for an opening.

They began to circle each other in the rain, and Riddick knew that one way or the other, he wasn't walking away from this confrontation without blood on his hands. He grinned at the thought, saw his opening, and jumped.


	5. Royal bitchslappin'

**_I had so much trouble trying to get this to work, every time i touched it for some reason the entire thing would squish into one giant paragraph. crud. stupid thing. oh well, here's the next chapter, and thanks for the patience. I had no choice but to bold the first word of the character view changes, it wouldn't let me DO anything else. grr_**

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**Chapter 4**

**The Huntress** marveled at her prey's cat-like movements and hard determination, despite his being practically blind and bleeding. Normally, her prey would be on the ground weeping, not on their feet and ready for battle. She was glad of her decision to let him prove himself, to give him a chance.

So far he was doing just fine.

Seeing him so protective of his companions swayed her. She would let him live, as long as he left the area. But she also knew the strength of this man, he would take , but she was glad to be the one to convince him and wanted to have a little fun doing it.

She circled him, he circled her, and both kept their eyes carefully focused on the other. His sudden grin unnerved the Huntress, a predatory glare she wasn't used to.

_He's enjoying this as much as I am_ she realized just as he leapt at her, catching her off guard. His massive form rammed her off her feet before she could react, knocking her back into the mud. She felt the cold metal carve a line through her belly and the warmth of her blood as it gushed out.

They landed in a jumbled heap on the soft ground, Riddick kneeling above her and bearing down, struggling for dominance. Her blade slipped and it squirted out of her hand, leaving her weaponless.

Infuriated, the Huntress struck out with her left fist and hit him in the throat. A wet grunt and he weakened enough for the Huntress to take advantage, using her right hand to grip the thick wrist that held the weapon and twisting her hips upwards, effectively flipping him off of her.

Now, their positions reversed, he tried to recover and fight her at the same time. She straddled him to keep him still, he tried to roll but she slapped him hard across the nose, a good distraction, and wrenched the blade away from him.

She got off of him quickly and scooted away, satisfied with another small trophy.

_That's two_!

She turned and ran as he got to his feet again, cursing and wiping the dirt and blood off of his nose. She held in her laughter as he stormed after her, not really seeing where he was going, but fueled by anger. 

She swung herself up into another tree, watched him rage about from above. His foot caught in a looped root and he fell with a loud growl into a particularly large puddle. The Huntress compared the splash to those of a large whale, and covered her mouth to stem the giggles.

She tenderly placed her prey's weapon next to his dark goggles and hopped back down, but staying out of sight. Quickly she checked her wound and was surprised to see how deep it really was. In the heat of battle the pain didn't bother her, the rain washed the blood away and kept it clean, but now under the natural umbrella of a tree, it bled freely, running down under her shorts and forming quite a large dark stain.

_I underestimated this man_, she thought as she ripped the torn piece of her shirt off to staunch the flow. Her need to rip him to pieces came close to overwhelming her admiration. But she held her fury in check, knowing that a little more of this and he'd leave her territory willingly and forever. She'd chase him out if she had to. Nobody was that determined.

**Riddick picked** himself up out of the water, cursing at everything around him, the water, the storm, the dirt for getting in his eyes, his unusual lack of coordination, and especially at the evil person tormenting him.  
_I had him; I had him right under me!_

He wanted to kick himself for not taking the time to look at his enemy's face, to see his eyes. If he had done that, this thing wouldn't seem so... 

_Inhuman_.

Not quite the word he was looking for. Primal, quick as a cat, and his equal in combat, but he knew for sure his enemy was human. The age, sex, whatever else, he didn't know, and that pissed him off. An unknowable adversary was harder to fight. Not that it mattered; he was toast if Riddick got his hands on him again.  
_My shiv. Where the fuck is my shiv_?

Riddick thought he still had it but when he checked, it was gone. _The fucker took it_!

He waited a full minute for another attack, too strung out and seething with rage to care about the rain or the new soreness in his throat. No movement. Not a sound. Another three minutes. 

With the new injuries, the rain and his exhaustion, Riddick risked closing his eyes for a moment, convinced that at last his enemy was gone.

He wasn't all that hurt, more shaken up than anything. His body shook, he felt uncharacteristically weak, and angrier than he'd been in years. His mashed nose throbbed and bled; he felt the warmth of it dripping off his chin. He wiped what he could off with his arm and hoped the rain would do the rest.

_I should find the others_ he thought as the water trickled down his cheeks and washed the redness away down his neck.

Not completely sure of his whereabouts and the status of his enemy, Riddick swallowed his weakness and began walking. His body tried to betray him, wanted to lie down and rest, recover from the battle. He swallowed again. 

_Walk now, sleep later_.

He blocked out his injuries, focused on putting one foot forward, _left, right, left, tree stump, right, left, right, hope they have bandages..._

He zeroed in on where he thought Jack and Imam went, figured they couldn't have gotten far. He fingered a snapped twig as he passed and sought out other signs indicating their travel. Looking at the ground helped drain his nose, but he tasted the warm liquid ooze down the back of his throat. 

His eyes were getting adjusted to the brightness; they didn't burn as badly as they were before, and so he kept them wide open. Only the lightning flashes hurt but they didn't occur enough to be a hindrance. He spotted a small imprint, slowly filling with rain about five feet away and he grinned. Jack's heavy boots.  
_Bless her taste in footwear_.

Riddick called out to them, hoping they could hear him over the booming thunder. He made his way in the direction the imprint faced, feeling elated. He would find them and they would get the hell out of here. A bush beside him rustled and Riddick, still in kill-mode, crouched automatically and reached for the shiv that wasn't there.

_He's here again_ he sensed with dread. Riddick spat blood at the bush, disgusted. _If he's going to try and kill me, I wish he'd just get it over with._

He felt a sting on the back of his head and spun around. Nobody there. There was just another bush, though he knew differently. Riddick felt his head, checking for new blood, seething with irritation.

_He slapped me_!

Confused once again, Riddick wondered why his enemy, while his back was turned, didn't take the chance to slit his throat. He crept forward, still crouched and ready. His eyes flitted to every movement around him, a stab of alarm hitting him with every waving branch. In the grasp of the storm, everything moved, and his panic soon became one hard knot inside him.

A splash. Riddick spun again, caught a glimpse of a hand before it pushed him roughly into the mud, and disappeared. He caught himself before he was fully seated in the wetness. 

No sooner than he got to his feet again, with another loud whoop rang out and his enemy struck again. He felt a tug at his shoulder and slapped a hand there, hitting bare skin. He whirled around and saw a flash of hair disappear into the surrounding woods.

His fingers itched to close around the neck of his enemy. The remnants of his shirt dangled down from one shoulder, exposing the other shoulder and half his chest. _What's he trying to do, strip me_?

He gave chase unthinkingly, running on pure anger now, keeping his eyes on the trees. He refused to be surprised from above again. 

_Where is he, I'll kill em, I do not like to be toyed with, god damn it._

"Where the fuck are you?" He roared, exploding when he couldn't find a single sign of his adversary.

Then he stopped, panting, as a revelation came to him. 

_Whoa, wait a minute, quiet yourself down, you're no good when you're angry, you're not thinking straight. You're just playing into his hands. Focus._

Riddick remembered using this same tactic before, though this person did it a little differently. Confusion, injury and rage. Riddick knew if the target embraced these things, they fought poorly and made more mistakes, an easier kill. He wanted to kick himself for falling prey to this strategy himself. He knew better.

He took a deep breath and cleared his mind of everything, the cold, and the rage. Some of his self-discipline crept back, and Riddick slowly regained his composure. He had to do this. If he didn't get himself focused and alert, he would die. That was a fact and he recognized it.

With one hand he cracked his nose back into place, didn't feel the pain. Unfeeling and...stone cold. Detached. Pain didn't exist. The woods around him, his companions, this chaos, they didn't exist to him. 

It was only he and his enemy. _Now, I'm ready_.

With a feral snarl, he opened his eyes. 

Riddick picked up the scent of blood nearby; he knew his enemy was close. Slowly he crept forward, using the strong fragrance to stalk his target. It became heavier as he got further into the woods. He went as silently as he could, stepping softly, avoiding obvious twigs and puddles until he was in another small clearing. Ringed by trees and sheltered from the storm, Riddick grinned.

He was here. The blood smell was intense and he licked his lips in anticipation of tasting the enemy.  
He waited in silence.

The world grew darker as the sun began to set behind the clouds. It was only a matter of minutes until vision would no longer be a problem. Riddick's eyes no longer burned.

The rain suddenly grew warm and fell in large dense drops on Riddick's shoulders and head. He felt every drop ooze sluggishly down his body to mix with the dew already there, but something inside him, his animal nature, told him this was no ordinary rain. He ran a hand over his head and it left a deep red stain on his palm. Its perfume was powerful. He felt its warmth spread across his scalp and was comforted. At the same time his reflexes spun him to defend himself. The source of the red rain was right above him.

He saw the legs descend toward him and instinctively grabbed one around the ankle and yanked hard. The enemy yelped in alarm and pain as he fell and landed with an audible thump on the ground next to Riddick.  
Riddick's appetite for pain was not yet sated. He wanted a scream or two.

Blinded by wrath now, he didn't even stop to look at his fallen adversary. Whoever it was recovered quickly, flipped and was on his feet again. Riddick leapt and landed behind him, spun and kicked his leg into his lower back. His rival stumbled and fell on all fours with a grunt. His head swung around to glare furiously at Riddick, and he heard a snake-like hiss.

Riddick didn't waste another second. Charging at his enemy he roared and kicked again, hitting him in the stomach and toppling him over onto his back. 

Riddick wished he had his shiv, seeing the enemy belly up and prone, perfect for a gutting blow to the belly. He comforted himself for a moment with the thought of ripping him apart with his bare hands.

**The Huntress** groaned in agony as his booted foot connected forcefully with her gut, and she felt herself go down. Instead of earth she saw sky. And even that intensity, the forks of lightning illuminating every curve of the clouds, was dulled by the slight blur in her eyes. On her back she knew she was prone, but couldn't move as swiftly as she wanted, she needed to recuperate first.

Her prey had turned around, suddenly the Hunter. The change had been obvious to her and as the Huntress watched, she had been pleased but a little unnerved that his Warrior nature finally made itself known. Unfortunately, now that her prey had the upper hand, she had no choice.

_  
__No scaring this one away. Kill him. No more mercy_.

The resolution made, the Huntress raised herself to her elbows, regaining her breath. As he looked down at her with his hungry silver gaze, she saw something she'd never seen in another human before. 

_Like a starved wolf, seeking blood. _He even licked his lips like one.

_Muhe'kun._

Mesmerized by his eyes, the Huntress did nothing but stare as the man put one foot on either side of her, his glowing orbs coming to rest on the stolen knife she had tucked in her belt. He kneeled down, effectively straddling the Huntress, much like she had the cowardly hunter before ripping him apart. Riddick's full weight crushed her underneath, and every breath came as a gasp. His demonic grin widened at the sound.  
The moment he moved to reclaim his blade, the Huntress's instincts kicked back in. She tried to roll and buck but his weight held her still.

_If he gets that back, you're a dead woman_.

**Riddick reveled** in the music of pain. His weapon was so close, he could almost see his enemies vital fluids flow over it, envisioned the contrasting red and steel and the torments he would inflict. And he would definitely take his time with this one. His beast insisted on it.

The body underneath him wriggled and Riddick's attention was brought back to him. Only now, as the cold steel slipped into his palm, did the enemy fight back. One hand also went for his weapon while the other struck out and hit his check, then struck him under the chin and pushed up and away. Riddick ignored it; he didn't need to see the meat to cut it up.

The blade was almost lost again as they played a twisted version of tug-o-war, struggling for control. Riddick pulled harder and the sharp edge split the soft meat of the enemy's palm, and he let go. The injured hand dripped into the mud and the beast inside howled.

Riddick struck the hand on his chin away, punned it down above the enemy's head. He rammed his elbow into his chest and placed the blade at his throat. Hovering mere inches from the enemies face, victorious, Riddick let out a pleased growl. 

The whole confrontation took less than a minute, which surprised Riddick a little because of the obvious skill of his adversary. Now beaten and unable to move, his foe seemed to relax, probably knowing death was soon to come.

_Not that easily_...thought Riddick, slowly pulling the shiv away from his enemy's throat, leaving a razor thin line of blood behind and dropping it in the mud. He then raised his fist and punched him. The smack of flash against flesh echoed in Riddick's ears.

Again. And again. 

The enemy struggled to be free of him but Riddick's unrelenting, bare fisted pounding soon left him weak and limp. Riddick dropped the other wrist and continued the beating with both hands until he was out of strength.  
He slowly became more aware of his surroundings when he stopped the beating. Like a dream he was slowly waking from. He began to see and feel things again. The trees around and the softness under and the lack of rain above. He heard someone yelling his name. He chose to ignore it for now, needed to destroy what life remained in the unconscious body beneath him.

The beast inside of Riddick began to fade, satisfied with the bloody mess it wrought and the vanquishment of the threat. It was now up to him to finish the job.

"Riddick!" 

The voice grated on his nerves as he reached for his shiv, intent on skinning his enemy with relish. The voice was near. He heard a splash as the source of the voice hurried toward him. There were two of them.  
Riddick stopped admiring the blade he held for a moment, ready to take on this new threat.

_Small, female, bald... Jack_.

Jack! Suddenly Riddick was wrenched totally out of his daze, knew who he was, and where he was. Jack reached him but didn't touch, just knelt beside him and looked at him anxiously. She carefully reached and took the shiv from him, and he let her, knowing she was completely trustworthy. He noticed Imam a few feet away, staring at the ground underneath Riddick. Jack was pulling at his shoulders, trying to move him, couldn't do it because she was so small and Riddick was still so tense. "Riddick, come on, get off of her." 

_Who? Her? What the fuck_?

Riddick looked down at his adversary; saw the gore spattered body beneath him. _I did that?_ His mind reeled.

_Not again. _

Now he was moved effortlessly by Jack, as he had gone limp. 


	6. Recovery

_Hey guys, sorry it took so goddamned long to update this fic. :) I've got three on the go now, and I've been working mostly on my hellboy fic. :) This one should get updated a hell of a lot more often, thanks for your patience! and remember, this was written in 2002... so it's a little amateur. Mid-chapter 6 is where I've picked up. :)_

**Chapter 5**

The storm shed one final tear on the weary companions, who were completely spent from all the violence. The sun had set completely, plunging the world into blackness only rivaled by the funereal atmosphere hanging around them.

Though Jack tenderly cleaned Riddick's wounds, he noticed she was overly cautious with him, as if any small sting as a result of her ministrations would set him off again. She didn't even really look at him, at his face, as she dabbed ever so lightly at his split lip.

_She's afraid of me_.

So was Imam, apparently. He did a better job of covering it up though, just stood aside surveying the scene with his usual priestly scowl, only moved to help Jack drag the strange woman from the middle of the clearing and bind her tightly with belts and bits of cloth. He avoided looking or coming anywhere near Riddick.

Riddick remained seated on his log, watching the proceedings numbly. After the woman was properly immobilized, they disarmed her completely, Jack tucked the massive blade into her own pants before taking Imam's arm and leading him away, mumbling something about firewood. Riddick saw right through the lie. _Too wet to find dry wood_. They were going to talk about _him_. Before she was out of sight, Jack looked warily at Riddick, unsure whether to leave him alone with the prisoner for any length of time. Riddick glanced at her and shook his head, _I won't touch her_ the gesture said, which seemed to reassure Jack enough. Riddick wondered where the hell she got her convictions. This woman beat the snot out of him, attacked him, put them all in danger, and Jack wanted Riddick to leave her alone? What the fuck?

_Too damned nice for her own good._

When they were gone, Riddick finally stood. He'd been sitting there for an hour, and his body was getting stiff. He began to pace, just to shake off the soreness in his legs, and thought about the battle.

Why he'd never realized his opponent was a woman didn't bother him. He'd been blinded, and she showed herself so little, moved so fast. Even when he was on top of her with his elbow assumingly poking right into her breasts, he was too far-gone to notice. At the time he thought only of pain and death, and the sex of the adversary didn't matter one bit.

For a while afterwards he felt guilty about pounding on her so mercilessly, she was, after all, almost half his size. Not in height but in general thickness. She was only a couple inches shorter than him, maybe 5'9", and though she was well muscled, she was easily 60 pounds lighter than Riddick.

_Not that it matters; she did a damned good job of messing me up_. Not so much physically, but mentally. He'd never felt like a scared rabbit being hunted by a fox before, and it brought out animal instincts he'd almost forgotten about. He'd stalked his victims, sure, but never quite in _that_ way or with _those_ senses and primal reflexes. Only once before had he felt like that, but it was so long ago, the memories were faded.

As he struggled to remember that day he touched his face carefully, only lightly feeling his nose. That and his lip didn't hurt nearly as much as before, both stopped bleeding but they still throbbed, more an annoyance than anything.

The woman groaned, bringing Riddick's attention back to her. She was still unconscious, bleeding a little, but even then had strength enough to move. As Riddick kneeled next to her he thought how admirable this woman would have been if she hadn't attacked him. Her skill and talent was obvious, she'd lived a hard life judging by her scars, and had will power and speed. All were very good qualities in a warrior. In different circumstances, Riddick knew he'd have liked this woman… now all he wanted to do is choke the life out of her.  
Add to those qualities, she was rather pretty and had a decent body under all the blood. Her face was puffed up from the bruises, and the slices in her neck and stomach masked her in red, but Riddick could still see her smooth henna colored skin, much like his own only a couple shades darker, like she spent all day outside tanning. On one side of her face he traced her strong jaw and prominent cheekbones, framed by thick, long jet-black hair, hanging in partial dreadlocks and soaked with gore. She almost had a cave-woman image, broken only by the clothes she wore, which were more modern. Riddick wondered if she grunted like a cave-woman and had to hold in his mirth at the mental images that brought.

Later, sitting in a circle around a fire made of rags and what few small logs the group could find, Riddick wondered why the woman attacked in the first place. He looked at Jack and Imam, trying to put himself in a stranger's perspective again, but still couldn't find anything remotely dangerous about them. Imam radiated purity and patience, a Holy Man through and through. Jack? The only scary thing about Jack was her resilience and bouncy teenage attitude. She was already more trusting of Riddick than two hours ago, maybe since he'd hardly moved or said anything to frighten her off.

_So what was it? __Me?_ Riddick knew he didn't exactly radiate 'cuddle me' vibes, and his face was known all over, had it maybe reached this planet as well? Maybe she was after the money for his head.

Riddick quickly discounted that theory, she didn't look like a mercenary, _more like someone who'd stick my head on a spear and chant gibberish at the moons_.

Then Riddick remembered the crucified hunter and his buddies, and what he'd thought when he saw them.

_Keep Out_.

Was that whole thing a battle for territory? Were they in her area, and did that provoke her attack? Was she trying to scare them off her land?

Riddick had been curious as to why she didn't kill him when she had the chance, now he knew. She didn't want him necessarily dead, she wanted him gone. And she knew that if she fucked him up enough for him to go away, the other two would also leave, and her territory would again be hers. Made almost perfect sense.

_Hold on_, Riddick thought. _If this is her area, she's got to live around here, and whatever her home is, it's got to be better than here in the bush. Close to fresh water and a decent food source, maybe medical supplies._

"Pack up, we're leaving."

_The Huntress swam in her dreams, through the icy waters of the river, to emerge at the shore. It was night and the moons shone brightly off the rapids, highlighting the trees around it. She basked in the glow for a moment before turning to head home, and stopped in her tracks. _

_  
__There, in the shadows, was a pair of glowing silver eyes. She reached for her knife but found it no longer here. _

_  
__A growl came and the Wolf stepped out, holding her blade and smiling hungrily. No waiting this time. She spun and ran, afraid, knowing from her other dreams what came next. Maybe this time she could out run him. _

_  
__She heard the howl and knew the man was now a beast and was gaining on her. Everything slowed down then, she felt like she was running through molasses, and screamed as the heavy paws hit her back with incredible force that knocked her to the rocks. She rolled over, knowing she was more exposed but also it made it easier to fight back. She pushed against the Wolf's nose, trying to keep it from her jugular, trying to throw him off of her. His claws dug into her, leaving thick red gashes on her stomach. _

_  
__She lost control and the teeth clamped on her throat like a vise, and the Huntress let out a final garbled scream before the Wolf tore her breath away._

She woke up with a jolt, still unable to breathe, gasping for air. It took her a moment for her body to sort itself out, and then she lay confused.

Where was she?

She was on her back, looking up through the trees at the stars. Her back was wet and she felt something jabbing uncomfortably against her back. From this angle nothing looked familiar, and it didn't help her vision was dampened by the blood that trickled in. She wanted to rub it away, but she was bound, her wrists stuck together above her head, and she didn't have the strength right now to lift them that far.

Someone leaned over her, a dark shadow. The Huntress couldn't quite make out a face but she saw a bald head.

_Shit, that could be any of them_.

When a slender arm came out and wiped the blood out of her eyes with a rag, the Huntress knew it was the girl. The fog cleared a bit as the blood was washed away, and she could swear the girl looked concerned.  
"Let's go Jack. Gimme that." The rag was swiped away from the girl's small hand and she glared at the speaker. The Huntress blinked and looked also.  
He held the rag in one fist and his silver eyes flashed with hatred. The Huntress didn't know whether to curl up and cry or start laughing. The girl, Jack, backed off a little, afraid of the large man.

_He's got me; I'm his prisoner now_.

The Huntress didn't know what to think of that. She'd never been beaten before, and caught only once, but escaped that easily enough. Now in the company of the Wolf she doubted herself and her abilities.

_Wait. Take your time, be patient, be silent_.

He seemed to reconsider something and looked down at her again. Riddick leaned annoyingly close to the Huntress, putting on a professional face. The Huntress wondered what his nose would feel like getting chewed up. She heard the girl protesting, "Careful, Riddick."

He smiled smugly at the Huntress and she wanted to slug him, cursing the cloth that bound her.

"So, are you going to explain yourself?" He asked like a father to a misbehaving child.

_Fuck you, baldy_. The Huntress remained silent.

"Where do you live?" He asked after a minute. The tension between them was rising. If she could lift a leg in time she could probably knee him in the balls. She decided against it when he took his shiv out and held it under her chin. She kept her mouth shut, letting her eyes trail off to look at the trees above.

"Look, you have to live around here somewhere, just lead us in the right direction."  
The Huntress laughed heartily inside, thinking of the wonderful tortuous things she'd do to him once she was free. As if she'd tell him where she lived, it was her most protected secret. Her eyes scanned the stars and she wished on the brightest.

_Let me have the strength…_

Riddick's large hands suddenly cupped her cheeks and squeezed, "Look at me." He said menacingly.

She did.

"Where do you live?"

She gathered some coppery tasting gob in her mouth and gave him a tightlipped smile in return.

"Tell me where you live." Riddick demanded. The strange woman just grinned at him. He was getting rather pissed off.

Jack was pacing behind him, he heard her, and he knew she was worried he'd flip out on the woman again. It took all his will not to when the strange woman spat blood onto his cheek in a fine spray and grinned wider.

He wiped the ooze off with his forearm, restraining himself from pounding the woman into soup, or using his shiv to play a while.

_If it wasn't for Jack…_

Damn right he would.

He sighed deeply and stood again, facing Jack and Imam. This was going to be harder without the stranger's help. He didn't really expect cooperation, but still, had to try. Jack looked relieved when he stepped away from the wounded woman.

"Now what do we do?" Imam asked, hefting his baggage and frowning as usual.

Riddick considered for a minute, decided they couldn't discuss this near _her_ and took them aside for a group meeting, keeping one eye on his prisoner.

"I say we find the nearest river. She has to live somewhere near a food supply and water source, otherwise she wouldn't have made it as long as she probably has out here. We could probably live on what she's got until we find transportation off this rock."

"What if she gets free, Mr. Riddick?"

"Doubtful."

"But what if? She could have a way to signal the mercs or something, and you're in no condition to handle them _and_ her." Jack insisted, looking him over.

"What's wrong with my condition?" Riddick asked, offended. He spotted the woman fighting her bonds and chucked a rock at her, saying "No!" like one would to a bad dog. She growled back at him, making him laugh.

Jack replied, "Let's see, how fucked up _are_ you right now?" She lifted a hand to count off fingers and reasons, but Riddick interrupted her.

"Watch your mouth."

"Fuck that shit."

Imam put a hand on her shoulder to silence her. "Enough."

Riddick almost laughed at the scenario. Him of all people, chiding Jack for swearing. Imam giving them both hell in his own paternal way. And Jack standing there as stubborn as every other teenager, defying her 'parents'. That, and the bad dog over there.

Riddick planned everything out with the others. He'd take the strange woman, having the strength to drag her easily enough. Jack and Imam would take the luggage. They'd head in the direction of the sounds of the river. Now that the rain stopped he could hear it a little. Maybe he'd hear it better from the 'dead hunter' place, where they were going first.

He made sure the others were ready, and stalked over to the woman, who still struggled with the belts and cloth. She stopped when she saw him, but he didn't sense any fear from her. Just hatred.

"You keep wiggling like that, you'll reopen your belly wound. Wouldn't want you to bleed to death, now would we?"

She appeared to deliberate on that for a second, before resuming her struggle. _Would rather die than be a prisoner, huh? Tough shit._

Riddick grabbed the rope around her ankles and pulled. She grunted as her head struck a tree root. Riddick glanced over his shoulder at her, grinning.

"Hey, if you just told us where you lived, I might have let you walk."  
She gave him the finger instantly.

_Definitely not inhuman. And she knows English_.

"Okay then!"

The three agreed on how to transport the prisoner, though Imam thought it was a little cruel. But they all knew that this way she couldn't bite or reach one of her weapons.  
Riddick dragged the woman behind him, like pulling a wagon that squirmed. Jack and Imam stayed ahead of them, not wanting to see the woman dragged through the forest. Jack felt sort of sorry for her, she told Riddick earlier. At the same time she didn't really give a shit how hurt she got either. The strange woman attacked them first and deserved the discomfort.

Riddick just considered it payback for breaking his nose.


	7. Escape!

**Thank you guys so much for your reviews and your patience. I now have four stories on the go, and working full time, AND running one forum and moderating two others. LOL. **

_Fitmama: Thank you. I've been trying to get into his head somehow, but with so many others trying to do the same thing, well... who knows how he'll turn out. You'll find out about our dear Huntress in future chapters._

_kiee: Childish, no? LOL. I can see him grumping around like a bear. _

_and to the rest of you, thank you for your support. I'll try harder to update now... it's all new from the middle of this chapter on... so it'll be a little wierd. hehe. thanks again!_

_

* * *

**Chapter 6 ** _

Riddick had enough. He was physically and mentally exhausted. His drenched clothing would not dry in this humidity, and he shivered with every gust of wind that kept unpleasantly cold. His arms ached from dragging the still-silent woman for the past two hours through the dense bush and rocky terrain. Periodically he'd have to lift her up and over tree roots and rocks, and she'd fight every second. She almost head butted him in the nose but Riddick dodged it quick enough. He was an inch away from beating her senseless again.

"Stop!" he yelled to his companions who were about 30 feet ahead of him and noticeably weary. Jack audibly sighed with relief and collapsed to the ground under a tree. Riddick dropped the woman's legs and sat beside Jack, wincing as his bones creaked. Imam gave him a paternal glare knowing Riddick had overstrained himself when he should have been resting. Riddick rolled his eyes before he could stop himself, but kept quiet.

_Vacation planet, my ass_! He thought, touching his nose lightly with his stiff fingers. Jack reached over and lightly slapped his hand.

"Quit playing with it. It'll heal crooked."

Riddick grunted at her but obeyed, _too damned tired to argue right now anyway_. His nose was crooked to begin with.

The strange woman smirked at the display, probably thinking that Riddick was some kind of pussy for taking orders from one half his size, a teenage girl no less. Riddick closed his eyes for a few minutes, blocking everything out but the current problem. He rested his head against the tree trunk and breathed deeply. He thought about the Woman lying in the mud, silent, tense, and alert.

_Is it just my warped imagination or does she look nervous?_

_Of course she's nervous, she's your prisoner._

_Although she wasn't nervous when she spat on me, she was angry, focused. But not afraid_.

Riddick noted a change in her the last time he lifted her over a root. Her muscles were stiffer, eyes flitted around, and she didn't even struggle as much.

_Why?_

"Mr. Riddick?"

_Fucking Holy Man_, he thought, knowing he was near the solution when his thoughts were interrupted. Opening his eyes, he saw that his crystalline glare still unnerved the Father. He didn't know what to think about that.

"It appears that we've gone in circles…again."

Riddick felt the first pound of an oncoming migraine. "What?"

Imam cleared his throat, "I found our own tracks."

"Show me."

* * *

The Huntress watched the two men go, trying not to laugh aloud as the Wolf growled at the frightened priest. Before he left he leaned down and whispered into the little girl's ear, glancing at the Huntress while fingering the knife tucked in Jack's belt. The girl's innocent face strained at what he said. 

_He must have told her to kill me if I try anything. As if she could._ The Huntress grinned at the thought.

As soon as the men were out of sight the Huntress resumed her struggle with her bonds. The small jagged rock she used to work at the cloth binding her wrists was always squirting out of her sweaty palms. The mud didn't help either and she'd had plenty of that in the past couple of hours. If she could get just half an inch more through the strong cotton scarf she could tear away the rest and her hands would be free. The rest would be simple.

The girl looked over at her again with a hint of paranoia. The Huntress stopped cutting and stared back, focusing on the whites of Jack's eyes. She didn't look away, even after two full minutes under the Huntress's scrutiny.

_Strong will in this girl, she'll make it far if she lives through the night_.

Again the Huntress wondered what such a young girl was doing with a warrior like him. Not sexual, she could tell. More…sibling-like. They fought like children sometimes.  
_Definitely a weakness._

The men stomped back just as the first rumble of another storm shook the ground. Turning away from the Huntress, the girl looked questioningly at Riddick.

"So, what's going on?" she asked. The Huntress wanted to scream her laughter when he just kicked a rock in reply. Twice the group passed the same grove of trees. She knew exactly what was going on and found it almost too amusing to contain.

"We found our own fucking tracks!" he bellowed.

The girl flopped back against the tree with a groan. "Buying time to think again?"

The black look she got in reply was enough to shut her up for a while.

The Huntress laid her head back down and waited for the rain, quietly resuming the work on her bonds. The Wolf would be too preoccupied with figuring things out to notice, hopefully.

_Careful. We're so close. Too close._

The Huntress felt rocks in her stomach at the thought of these strangers finding her home. It was well hidden and had it's own security, but she had a feeling the Wolf would find it and get in despite it all. She worked harder at her bonds desperately. Maybe if they fall asleep she could get free and find a rock to bludgeon them with.

She felt a drop land on her belly, cold yet welcome. If it rained hard enough it might clear enough mud away from her eyes so she could actually see clearly. Plus it would feel wonderful on her swollen face.

The others didn't seem to like the concept of more rain. Riddick mumbled, "Fuck," and sat again with Jack under the shelter of branches. The priest's shoulders sagged, but he moved toward the Huntress instead of refuge.

_What the…?_

She hid the rock in her palm and waited. The Priest leaned down and hooked his fingers around the belts binding her ankles, lifting her legs out of the mud with a wet sucking sound. But before he could start dragging her, Riddick shouted.

"What are you doing, Holy Man? Leave her."

"I'm not leaving her out in the rain."

"Why not?"

_At least the Priest has some redeeming qualities_, thought the Huntress.

The Priest ignored him and pulled the Huntress out from the rain to another sheltered area. The Huntress sucked her breath in sharply as a bit of torn skin caught on a pinecone along the way. He put her legs down and sat next to her in the dry little cave. He signaled to the others to come also, there was enough room inside to fit them all comfortably. The Huntress recognized the cave, a family of deer hid here sometimes during the rainy season. _They won't be coming here tonight, that's for sure._

The foursome huddled as well as they could to stay out of the downpour. The Huntress wiggled around enough to sit up, and worked her way over to the side of the cave and rested against it. Its cool stone soothed her aching back, but she worried about insects. She pulled her knees up and though it put pressure on her wounds; it felt better to be warmer. The Wolf watched her constantly and she glared back, unrelenting in her anger. First chance she got, she'd bash him and run. Just a little more cutting to do and she'd be free.

* * *

Riddick laughed to himself. Earlier he'd watched as the woman hid the rock in her palm. He'd spotted her partially sliced bonds. Now he watched her pretend to sleep.  
_She thinks I can't see this?_

He felt himself nodding off, listening to the chorus of snores from Imam and Jack, and the calming sounds of the pattering rain. It hadn't subsided at all in the past two hours and the three of them agreed to rest for the remainder of the night in the partially elevated cave. Of course, Riddick would not rest being fully aware that the woman was on the verge of escape.

His brain slowly drifted off, and he had to twitch to wake himself up again. Nothing noticeable, just a leg muscle close to the still healing wounds from those flying fuckers. It was a stab of pain enough to keep him sharp but too light to make him groan. Instead he turned onto his side and kept his one partially opened eye directly on the woman. He wore his goggles to conceal his eyes only, and although they dulled his vision they didn't completely obscure her shape or her movements.

Riddick inwardly grinned at her spunk. She'd been beaten and dragged through miles of rough terrain, and now lay bound and probably in a lot of pain, and she was _still_ trying to get away, still strong enough to fight back. He admired her in a sense. He'd done the same in her situation not too long ago, being bound and fighting like mad to be free of the asshole that held him captive. Once again, Riddick thought he'd have liked this woman quite a bit if she hadn't been such a bitch.

Jack's stomach growled from across the cave. Riddick forgot that they hadn't eaten all day, just a snack left over from the skiff. The poor kid was probably starving, in that teenaged time when they can eat anything and everything and not gain a pound. Riddick smiled thinking of those days, when he'd impress even his peers with his appetite.

The woman didn't move for another hour. She just lay there facing him with her eyes closed, quite possibly catnapping. Not too many people could lie that still for that long and not even twitch. Riddick doubted that she was asleep though, she was too aware for that.

When she did move, it was only a slight shift. Riddick focused all this hearing away from the raindrops and the snoring of his companions and onto the bound woman… and could hear the barest rubbing noise. She was still working through her bonds.

Riddick decided to fuck with her a little, so he groaned real loud and turned over onto his back, then made a snorting sound. The woman immediately stopped her attempts to break free and lay very, very still. He smacked his lips and scratched his belly, trying extremely hard not to outwardly grin. He knew she was terrified he was waking up.

Riddick silenced himself and appeared to go back to a deep sleep, but the woman still didn't move. He almost gave up on it right then, and just about went to sleep despite the danger of her escaping, but he knew better. He knew that if she got her hands free, there was the chance she would injure Jack or Imam, and Riddick had vowed on the skiff not to let that happen while he was nearby.

* * *

_Okay, if he scratched his balls I wouldn't have made it through without laughing, _the Huntress thought as she watched the warrior smack his lips and lie still again. She wasn't positive whether it was an act or not, she hadn't watched too many humans sleep and so she could not tell if his breathing patterns were fake or real. This pissed her off. She wanted out, NOW, and if Riddick was just messing with her. The Huntress swore to the Gods she'd snap that fat neck of his. If he wasn't messing with her, she was just wasting her time being so cautious.

The others were sound asleep, that she could tell by the cacophony of grumbles from the Imam and the wheezes from the girl, Jack. But Riddick was still a problem. She thought that if she could get her bonds cut, and he was faking it, she might still have a chance to grab the rock she'd been resting her head on and bash him over the head with it and run.

_Yah, and bears can grow wings and fly,_ she joked. She was fast, but not that fast.

She tested the bonds again and found them loose enough that she could rip the rest of the way through. She debated with herself whether to do it now or wait until she was sure Riddick was asleep. _Oh, piss on it._ She pulled as silently as she could and could feel the bonds ripping further and further until they were loose enough for her to unwind her wrists.

All the while she kept her half-shut eye on Riddick, still unsure if he was awake or asleep, watching her or not. On his back he had a disadvantage but the Huntress couldn't take the chance. Her wrists finally loose, she flexed her fingers and wrists until she heard a bone pop, then went totally still. Her enemy may have heard it, so she shut her eyes completely and let her body go completely loose. She kept an ear out for movement though.

She thought she heard a blink, but wasn't sure. It could have been the patter of the rain on the logs outside, but she wouldn't take the chance, she kept her stance.

Five minutes went by without a noise. She could swear Riddick was asleep, but fear clutched her belly that he was awake and watching her, so she kept her eyes shut for another couple of minutes.

Finally, after no sound but the rain, she chanced opening her eyes a little…

And found the Wolf staring right back at her.

* * *

_Gotcha!_ Riddick thought with glee as he saw the outright fear in the woman's eyes as she discovered him not a foot away from her, staring into her eyes. He knew his silvery gaze threw people off, so that definitely helped here in the dark of the cave. 

What he wasn't prepared for was the butt of her right hand hitting him hard on the chin, causing him to bite his tongue. He grunted and spit blood as she scrambled to her feet. _Not this time sweetheart…_

Riddick grabbed her ankle and she landed on top of Imam with a yelp. Using his chest she pulled herself to her feet and kicked at Riddick with the one that was still free. How he got her feet free he didn't know, only that she was bent funnily before, but he honestly didn't think she was that flexible, or her legs that long. In any other situation he'd be a little turned on at that, but now all he could think of was the Hunt.

Surprisingly to Riddick, Imam got into the action, reaching up and tackling her around the waist. They landed in a jumbled heap next to Riddick, Imam keeping her pinned with his weight. Riddick tried to get an elbow around her neck to keep her still but she kept wiggling out of the way. With strength he didn't believe she possessed, she shakily lifted both herself and the Holy Man off the ground, and swiped at Riddick's eyes with her nails. He barely dodged it and ended up on his back.

Knocking Imam totally off her back she got to her feet, kicked Riddick in the gut and almost tripped over Jack on her way out of the cave. She only slowed to grab her staff. It took the others a moment to recover from the sudden strange assault but Riddick was out of the cave in a flash. His belly still hurt from that powerful leg but he put the pain aside for now, intent on hunting his prey again.

She was still in sight, skipping easily over the logs and puddles, enormously nimble and swift for someone so badly beaten. Riddick couldn't even hear her movements. The only thing he could hear was Jack yelling around behind him and the careless splashes of Imam as he tried to catch up to Riddick.

Riddick ignored them both for now, focusing completely on keeping track of the escaping woman. Soon their voices were far behind him and Riddick idly hoped that the two of them just gave up and went back to the cave… he didn't think the woman would be too happy about hunting around the dark forest for his companions with him.

His little plan didn't go well, his surprising her when her eyes opened he thought with a laugh. For some moronic reason he expected her to just roll over and behave herself. Ha! He wouldn't, why would she?

The Woman disappeared behind a tree and Riddick slowed, thinking she was just hiding behind it. He wanted to sneak up on her and get her from behind, where her flying fists could not reach him.

Riddick felt his heart thump in his chest, his senses were on high alert and he felt… wonderful. Alive. Better than on T2, that's for sure. That place, the days they spent there, it was purely survival, trying not to get killed. Sure, it was a challenge, but nothing like this, with an adversary that was close to if not totally his equal. A fellow warrior. And in fact, and he was reluctant to admit it, but despite the numerous beatings, cuts, scrapes and near-chokings, he was thoroughly enjoying this.

He smelled her, she was close. The tree was less than ten feet away and Riddick felt the ridiculous apprehension that she could hear his heart beat and would take off running again.

Five feet away, and Riddick was stalking the tree. He kept as silent as possible, grinning wide and preparing to leap. There was no movement near the tree, but the woman was thin enough to hide behind it easily.

He leapt, going for her knees and missing completely. He was surprised, in his head he'd calculated where her legs would be and they just weren't there! _What the hell?_ Riddick landed in the mud next to the tree, no woman in sight.

"Fuck!" he muttered as he got to his hands and knees. _Where the fuck did she go this time?_

Only then did he remember she liked heights.


End file.
